The present invention relates to abrasive systems and more particularly to a light weight collapsible sandblasting cabinet for use in abrading various articles, the abrading process being performed inside the cabinet.
In the prior art abrasive particles such as sand have been used to remove surface portions of various articles. The sand is propelled against the workpiece surface in a stream of high velocity air which carries the sand. Impingement of the sand against the workpiece surface wears away a top layer of the workpiece, producing dust. Unless the used sand and dust are confined they will be scattered and wasted and they will contaminate the environment. Accordingly enclosures of various types are used to contain the sand so that it can be reused and to avoid detrimental environmental effects. The enclosure must be large enough to contain the articles to be abraded and to permit viewing by an operator while abrasion is taking place. Additionally the enclosure generally provides arm holes fitted with gloves so that an operator may manipulate the work being abraded. These requirements make for an intricate design so that prior art cabinets made from metal, plastic, or glass panels are relatively expensive. Most prior art cabinets are large enough and sufficiently heavy to make transportation an expensive proposition. Accordingly there still remains a need for an inexpensive sandblasting cabinet that is light and collapsible into a compact shape so that it can be folded up and then transported and stored easily and inexpensively.
Sandblasting cabinets are disclosed in various existing patents including Numemaker U.S. Pat. No. 3,599,375 for “Sand-Blasting Device”; Brown U.S. Pat. No. 4,375,740 for “Portable Abrading Cabinet Device for Recycling Abrasive Blasting System”; Bowes et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,460,564 for “Sandblasting Cabinet Assembly”; Guseman U.S. Pat. No. 6,099,395 for “Collapsible Sandblasting Cabinet”; and Williams et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,712,677 for “Portable Sand Blasting Cabinet and Accessory End Caps”. The disclosures of these patents are incorporated herein, to the extent consistent with the present invention. However, the prior art sandblasting cabinets includes one or more serious deficiencies making them less than entirely suitable for their intended purpose.
A principal objective of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive and light weight sandblasting cabinet by making at least one wall of the cabinet from corrugated plastic or corrugated cardboard sheet material. Another objective of the present invention is to provide a sandblasting method including assembly of a sandblasting cabinet from a kit comprising sheets of corrugated plastic or corrugated cardboard sheet material. A related objective of the invention is to assemble a sandblasting cabinet from a kit containing the sheets, utilizing hook and loop fasteners to connect side wall flaps. Additional objectives and advantages of my invention will become apparent to persons skilled in the art from the following detailed description of a particularly preferred embodiment.